Local radishes - a spicy, feel-good April lunch

A few days ago, I thought I'd see if I could make lunch from (mostly) locally-grown ingredients in Minnesota in early April. Not easy to do.

At the co-op I came across some radishes grown in Wisconsin - not sure how this happened, but obviously a greenhouse or hydroponic operation was involved. I thought I might steam them, having recently discovered this method of cooking radishes at a banquet at Concordia College (none of us knew what we were eating until we asked the caterers, who told us they were steamed radishes). But then as we walked by the cookbook section of the store, Local Flavors by Deborah Madison caught our eye. Several of the recipes in Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle come from Madison, and when we happened to open the book to a page with recipes for Radish Sandwiches and Radish Salad with Cheese, we knew it was destined for the cookbook shelf in our kitchen cupboard.

The book is arranged to help you cook from ingredients at a farmers' market or CSA farm: "Rather than letting the parts of the meal dictate the order of recipes," she writes, " botanical families and regional seasons themselves have been given that guiding role." There's even a feature article in the book about the St. Paul Farmers' Market. One of the oldest markets in the country, it was established in 1853, before Minnesota was even a state!

I already had locally grown chives in my shopping basket, and had some Wisconsin parmesan at home, so we headed home to cook. Along with the radish salad, we had some Italian Carrots Jennie had made earlier in the week, some Minneapolis-baked Rustica bread with Hope Butter from Hope, MN, and a piece of smoked Lake Superior lake trout. We both agreed after lunch that it was the "freshest" lunch we'd had in a long time, and left us energized, without any hint of post-lunch sluggishness or sleepiness.

Radish Salad with Vella's Dry Jack Cheese
(Deborah Madison) Serves 4-6

2 bunches of radishes

2 T. chives, chopped

olive oil

2-4 oz. Dry Jack cheese or Parmesan

sea salt and pepper

mixed greens

1. Cut off the radish greens and, if they're in good shape, chop them roughly.

2. Leave just a bit of stem on the radishes and slice the radishes thinly lengthwise. Put them in a bowl with the chives and radish greens and coat with olive oil. Shave the cheese over them, add salt and pepper, and add additional mixed greens if desired.

Italian Carrots

(Ellen Vancura)

1 lb carrots, peeled

1/2 C. olive or vegetable oil

1/2 C. red wine vinegar

1 t. suger

6-8 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely

1 1/2 t. dried oregano

1. Cut carrots in strips, cover with water, bring to boil, then drain immediately.

2. Mix oil, vinegar, sugar and garlic. Add carrots and oregano and mix.

3. Refrigerate at least overnight (lets the flavors "visit"). Serve cold.